Engagement At School

Lately many parents and teachers have noticed a low morale of students at our school and around our community. Many think it may be caused by the added stress of the new common core standards. Some also think it may be caused by the lack of information about activities for students to participate in after school. “Most students participate in academic and non-academic activities at school, and develop a sense of belonging – their friends are there, they have good relations with teachers and other students, and they identify with and value schooling outcomes. But many students are not engaged. They do not believe their school experience has much bearing on their future, and they do not feel accepted by their classmates or teachers. Gradually

We see this often in our school’s clubs and after school activities, many students feel unwelcome in a group that would love to have them and help them grow their interest in the program. i feel that a good way to help solve this problem would be as simple as having groups and group members reach out to other students. helping other students realize a talent or interest they may have could help grow membership numbers and give kids something to look forward to during the week. club activities are a good boost of morale when the student enjoys the activity. In an article on the Huffington post’s website, psychotherapist and author Katie Hurley writes, “Yes, tests and quizzes are part of school, but the pressure to perform is very high right now. Stress trickles down. When teachers are under stress, kids internalize it. With this hyper-focus on the core areas of learning and the constant testing to ensure that the material is being memorized (I mean understood, of course), kids are constantly under pressure to perform. Add a trickle down stress factor to that and kids begin to fall